It
never ceases to amaze me how, in even the tiniest little towns on the
outer edges of nowhere, you can still find a little Chinese restaurant
dishing out soy-sauce-drenched fried rice, sticky General Gau’s
chicken, fluorescent yellow egg drop soup. So unless you’ve been
living in a cave your whole life, you’ve no doubt encountered enough
Chinese cuisine – or at least its Westernized bastardizations – that
the foundations of its flavors don’t seem so terribly exotic to the
palate. Soy sauce, ginger, scallions and rice … these may already play
a role in your cooking. But there’s a lot more to Chinese cooking than
those familiar fundamentals. If you’re looking to expand your
skills beyond the same old soy sauced stir-fry medley, you’ll need to
get your kitchen stocked with some of these goodies …

the basic pantry

1. soy sauce | Soy sauce is a staple of Chinese cooking. Made
from a fermented mixture of soy beans, flour and water, the richness and
saltiness of soy sauce varies considerably from one brand to the next
– an important factor to keep in mind when you’re following recipes.
In general, I prefer Japanese soy sauces, which seem to have a smoother
flavor to me than Chinese brands … the organic San-J brand tamari is a
favorite.2. sesame oil (toasted) | This dark brown-colored oil has a
delicious aroma, and is generally sprinkled over dishes and into sauces
as a seasoning rather than for cooking.3. canola or vegetable oil | Traditionally, peanut oil was the
preferred oil for cooking in China, but vegetable and canola oils are
much healthier, and, like peanut oil, have a nice, neutral flavor that
makes them ideal for stir-frying.4. black vinegar | A dark, slightly sweet, relatively mild
vinegar that’s made from rice, wheat, millet or sorghum, black vinegar
is used in braised dishes and dipping sauces.5. rice vinegar | A clear, mild vinegar with a nice clean flavor,
commonly used in sauces. If you substitute cider vinegar (or ordinary
vinegar), use a little less than the recipe calls for. Japanese Marukan
brand is a good choice.